Productivity determines how fast the economy can grow and how much living standards can increase

Published Sep 6, 2018 at 9:00 AM

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In this June 20, 2018, file photo, a worker wields a hammer at a construction site in Boston. On Thursday, the Labor Department issued updated data on productivity in the second quarter.

What to Know

The 2.9 percent rate growth followed a tepid 0.3 percent gain in the first quarter

Productivity has been weak throughout this nine-year expansion

Productivity determines how fast the economy can grow and how much living standards can increase

The Labor Department on Thursday affirmed last month's report that U.S. productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the second quarter.

The government reported few revisions to the productivity figures released in August. The jump in productivity followed a tepid 0.3 percent gain in the first quarter. Labor costs slipped 1 percent in the April-June quarter, instead of the 0.9 percent that was initially reported.

Productivity, which determines how fast the economy can grow and how much living standards can increase, has been weak throughout this nine-year expansion. Many economists view the strong second-quarter growth as a blip rather than a lasting acceleration.

Separately, the Labor Department said Thursday that 203,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, the lowest level since December 1969.

Prosecutors unveiled the full statement in court on Thursday against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of fabricating a racist and homophobic attack against himself in a bid for publicity.